Pittsburgh City Controller Rachael Heisler said the city’s fleet is at a crossroads. She said it is time to either make the proper investments or city services could suffer.

According to Pittsburgh City Councilman Bobby Wilson, this reinforces the legislation that he helped pass that requires the city to evaluate the fleet.

A report from Heisler said the city owns 1,339 vehicles, and fleet staff says a significant number of vehicles are no longer usable and are used for spare parts.

“We all know that if you have an old car that’s far past its time and if you don’t get that new car, you’re going to be spending lots and lots of money on maintenance,” Wilson said.

According to the controller’s report, 430 vehicles are at least 10 years old, and another 428 are between five and 10 years old. Overall, the average age of the fleet is eight years and two months. 

Councilman Wilson said the city has been budgeting $6 million to $8 million per year for the fleet. He said that the number needs to come up to $20 million a year.

“This council is ready to make major steps to make sure that we’re getting somewhere on our fleet maintenance, but also new vehicles,” councilman Wilson said.

Controller Heisler’s reports said to get everything within its recommended life cycle, the city would need to invest almost $207 million between now and 2030.

In a statement, Mayor Ed Gainey’s office says it is calling for $50 million next year for vehicle needs. Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor wants to work with non-profit organizations to help cover some of these costs, as the council tosses around potentially raising taxes.

“Whether that’s EMS vehicles or fire trucks, it’s critically important that our public safety vehicles are not only top-notch but are ready to go,” Wilson said.

Even once new vehicles are ordered, the report says it can take time or be more expensive for vehicles to get here because of supply chain issues, computer chip shortages, and building specialty vehicles now costs more.